True Solution of the Sword Dao

Boom!

A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. The entire sky was dark, filled with dense clouds.

At the Ping City train station platform, Lin Fei, Lin You, Jiang Nan, and Shuang’er were all holding tickets, waiting in line to board. A long line for ticket checking stretched ahead of them. The train police was moving neither too quickly nor too slowly; it looked like they would have to wait a while.

Lin You carried a black suitcase and occasionally looked doubtfully at Shuang’er, who was holding Lin Fei’s hand. Despite Lin Fei mentioning that the little girl was like a younger sister recognized by her community and that they were taking her to Coastal City for fun, she still found the situation somewhat unbelievable.

"Is there such a trusting adult? To hand over such a small child to a person they haven’t known for long for a long trip?" she muttered quietly.

"Some are," Lin Fei replied naturally, "This is just an example! Actually, I have a very good relationship with Shuang’er’s family."

"Really?" Lin You wondered.

"Yes," Lin Fei answered with a smile.

Finally, it was the four of them’s turn. The train police scanned them from front to back, seeming somewhat puzzled by the group’s composition but didn’t say much more.

The gray-black train car was bustling and crowded with many people. There was a faint strange smell in the air. The car was somewhat stifling. Right at the entrance, a few people were standing and smoking, the strong smell of smoke making the air even more polluted.

"Let’s move quickly, just get past this car and we can go to the sleeper," Lin You said as she struggled to push forward with the small black suitcase, more being carried by the crowd than moving forward herself.

Lin Fei, on the other hand, was holding Shuang’er and walking straight ahead. He had a large travel backpack and a black sword bag on his back. With his current influence, it was very easy to bring the Longsword Ring onto the train.

"Hey, who the fuck stepped on me!! Damn it!!" A punk ahead suddenly yelled, turning back and grabbing a middle-aged man wearing glasses. "Was it you? Think you’re tough, huh?!"

"Sorry, it was just an accident..." the middle-aged man tried to explain.

Bang!

The two were suddenly knocked aside by a massive force, almost toppling into other passengers and causing a commotion. The punk scrambled up, turned his head about to curse, but immediately clenched his jaw shut.

"What, got a problem?" A huge man with a purple dragon tattoo on his arm lifted his chin. His arm was almost as thick as a normal person’s thigh.

The punk quickly shook his head.

"Tch..."

The large man sneered disdainfully and continued walking forward.

"Move it up front!!" He bellowed as he pushed forcefully ahead, speaking in Mandarin with a slight Coastal accent. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Lin Fei and the others followed behind the big man, easily passing through what was originally a very crowded car.

Just when they could no longer stand the squeezing, this big man had pushed his way from behind, glanced at the group, and said softly, "Follow me!" So, they just followed this big man as he smoothly made way forward.

They reached the sleeper car in no time.

"Thanks, big brother," Lin Fei, as the oldest, naturally was the first to thank him.

"No need for thanks! If my son was still here, he’d be about your age," the big man waved his hand, "Go to your sleeper, don’t delay."

"Okay, thank you, uncle," Lin Fei and the others politely thanked.

"No need, no need." The big man waved his hand and walked on.

Lin You looked at the big man’s departing figure and commented with some emotion, "Indeed, you can’t judge a book by its cover. There are good people in the underworld too."

"Yes," Jiang Nan agreed with a nod.

"That’s why they say, traveling thousands of miles is better than reading thousands of books," Lin Fei set Shuang’er down and took the lead, pulling her forward. "Let’s go and find our places first."

Lin You hadn’t expected Lin Fei to speak such cultured words and was taken aback, but said nothing and followed them forward.

The four of them continued on their way, finding the sleeper car far less crowded than the regular cars, making it much easier to walk. They quickly located the berth numbers indicated on their tickets.

Two upper bunks, one lower bunk, and one middle bunk.

Lin Fei’s was the lower bunk.

"The person who wants to swap with me, raise your hand." He smiled, holding the ticket between his fingers.

Lin You sneered and walked aside, beginning to open his suitcase.

Jiang Nan smiled and shook his head, "I don’t need to, the upper bunk is fine."

Shuang’er, however, said in a delicate voice, "I want to sleep with brother~~"

Lin Fei sat on the lower bunk, putting down his black sword bag and backpack from his back. Then he gently embraced Shuang’er who leaned in close.

"Be good, Shuang’er. Have something to eat first." He opened his backpack, which was filled with all kinds of snacks. He took out a pack of chips, tore it open, and placed it in Shuang’er’s hand.

Meanwhile, Lin You was opening a black leather suitcase.

"Meow~~"

A small sound came from the suitcase. The black cat Feil elegantly stretched and hopped out of the suitcase. It remained a mystery how Lin You managed to sneak it past the train inspection.

The suitcase also contained some other miscellaneous items.

"I want some milk," Feil communicated telepathically to Lin You.

"Who cares!" Lin You replied impatiently, "Get it yourself, it’s in the suitcase."

"Hey! Get me some milk." Feil urged.

"Can’t you do it yourself?"

"If I could do it, why would I need you?" Feil looked at him with contempt.

Lin You had no choice but to squat down and dig through the suitcase to find the milk, which he then served in a metal dish.

The sleeper carriage was the type with six people per compartment, with a gap in the middle and three bunks on each side, upper, middle, and lower. Besides Lin Fei and the others, there were two more bunks available, one in the middle and one below, currently unoccupied but with belongings on them, indicating their owners had stepped away temporarily.

The group had just finished unpacking when a young woman helping an elderly man came walking down the corridor towards them.

"Be careful, sir." Although the woman had a plain appearance and was slightly thin, she seemed very polite. Her voice was very gentle.

"I’m fine! No need to hold me!" The old man spoke with a strong voice, not at all like someone who was frail. However, as they got closer, a strong smell of alcohol emanated from him.

"Here come some youngsters, haha..." His nose was red, but he still spoke coherently. The young woman helped him sit on the lower bunk and then busied herself getting him some water to drink. However, the old man was more direct, reaching under the bunk and retrieving a plastic bottle of mineral water filled with a golden liquid. He unscrewed the cap, and a strong aroma of alcohol wafted out.

The woman went to fetch water from the boiler at the end of the carriage with a mug.

The old man pulled out a disposable cup and poured some of the liquid into it. He was about to drink when he noticed Lin Fei sitting across from him.

Lin Fei had his hands interlocked supporting his chin, turning his face to look out the window. The train hadn’t started yet, and the tracks on both sides were lined with vendors pushing carts loaded with various edibles.

"Hey!" The old man smiled and greeted Lin Fei.

"What is it, sir? Is there something you need?" Lin Fei responded with a smile.

"Don’t smile like that; it’s insincere! Be more genuine!"

Lin Fei’s expression stiffened. He usually smiled like this, and no one had ever directly pointed out the insincerity of his smile. He looked deeply at the old man. Whether it was aura perception, ability power, or true force, this old man seemed to be just an ordinary person.

"Want some?" The old man offered, gesturing with his cup to Lin Fei.

Lin Fei was about to shake his head when the old man spoke up loud.

"Come on, what’s there to be afraid of in having a drink!"

Lin You and the others nearby were also drawn by the conversation. The young woman who had been assisting the old man carefully placed the freshly fetched boiling water on a table in front of him.

"Sir, you’re troubling people again. If they don’t want to drink, just let it be." She sat on the lower bunk, noticing Lin You and the others. Smiling, she said, "You all are together, aren’t you?"

"Yes, we’re all locals from Ping City," Lin You also smiled and started chatting with her. After a few exchanges, they both had a better understanding of each other.

This young woman was a university student heading to study in Coastal City, at the renowned Coastal University, which was considered a national key university. She was going to the university early due to her responsibilities in the student council.